Jim Mattis

James Norman "Mad Dog" Mattis (8 September 1950-) was a General of the US Marine Corps who served as commander of CENTCOM from 11 August 2010 to 22 March 2013, succeeding David Petraeus and preceding Lloyd Austin.

Biography
James Norman Mattis was born in Pullman, Washington on 8 September 1950, and he joined the US Marine Corps in 1969. Mattis was known as an intellectual in the officer corps, and he served as the Lieutenant-Colonel in command of a marine battalion during the Gulf War in 1991. During the Afghanistan War, Mattis commanded the US 7th Marine Regiment, and he rose to the rank of Major-General during the Iraq War. He led the US 1st Marine Division during the invasion of Iraq, and he was one of the commanders of the American troops during the fighting for Fallujah. Mattis became a member of the general staff during the following years, and he led CENTCOM from 2010 to 2013. After retiring from the army, he joined the board of the General Dynamics aerospace and defense corporation. On 20 Novembe 2016, President-elect Donald Trump met with Mattis at Bedminster, New Jersey, and he called him a "true General's General" and claimed that he was considering him for Secretary of Defense.